Coastal Hazards

Coastal Hazards

Caribbean coastal areas are vulnerable to multiple types of natural hazards. Among these are earthquakes, tsunami, and floods by hurricanes storm surge. Theses hazards lead to high vulnerability in heavily populated, built-up and industrialised areas of our shoreline. Vulnerable areas generate headlines after impact, and often serve as triggers for dramatic policy changes such as no-build zones and mandatory evacuations.
The coastal zone, however, is also the focus of more insidious natural processes, such as slow and progressive sea level rise, and continuous longshore drift – both of which erode and deposit sediment along shorelines. Numerical modelling has been applied for assessing the severity and level of vulnerability of coastal areas to these natural disasters. Simulation modelling of the coastal region allows us to provide beneficial guidelines for building or rehabilitation of infrastructure such as roads, ports, and commercial and residential buildings.